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But while former Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka is the current favourite to take the job at the Stadium of Light, former Black Cats striker Phillips is as short as 4/1 with Coral to be the next Sunderland boss.

Phillips began his professional career at Watford in 1994, but his most successful spell came at Sunderland and he won the Premier League's Golden Boot in the 1999/2000 season - scoring 30 goals.

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He had a spell at Palace which coincided with the club's promotion to the Premier League in 2013, with the striker scoring the winning penalty in the play-off final against another of his former clubs, Watford.

Phillips eventually retired from the professional game in 2014 and has been coaching at Derby County for the past two years.